As so often happens, one click leads to another … and another … and another.
For Amber Igiede, one of those clicks led her clear across the country.
Igiede was a high schooler in Louisiana scrolling through volleyball videos when the suggestions bar happened to direct her to a clip of a University of Hawaii match. Upon selecting the highlight, the idea of wearing a Rainbow Wahine uniform quickly clicked in Igiede’s mind.
“It was one play I saw where they had max effort,” Igiede said. “Literally diving around, saving balls. That’s how my club played and that’s how I strive to play, so that’s the program I wanted to be in.”
Out of that initial impression sprung an exchange of emails that eventually led to then-Rainbow Wahine associate coach Angelica Ljungqvist making a trip down south to watch Igiede in a tournament.
“I didn’t think I played that well,” Igiede recalled. “But she probably saw something in me.”
UH head coach Robyn Ah Mow saw enough in a follow-up visit — trekking through a vast array of courts in a summer event to track down Igiede’s club team — to offer the Baton Rouge middle blocker an opportunity to make the move across the Pacific.
Since joining the Rainbow Wahine, the hustle that initially sparked Igiede’s interest in the program has been a distinguishing feature in her development into one of the Big West Conference’s most dynamic middles.
Igiede enters her junior season as a focal point of the Wahine attack as UH’s leading returnee in kills and blocks. She finished 2021 second on the team with 2.95 kills per set while ranking fourth in the Big West with a .388 attack percentage. She led the Wahine and placed third in the conference with 1.26 blocks per set.
Her production helped earn Igiede a second All-Big West first-team selection and a spot on the AVCA All-Pacific North Region honorable mention list. Soon to follow was an invitation to train with the U.S. Women’s Collegiate National Team this summer.
Just as YouTube’s search algorithm helped broaden Igiede’s perspective on her college possibilities a few years ago, her experience in the national program in June helped “widen her lens” on the court.
Igiede said the concept has helped “more so with blocking and strengthening peripheral vision, knowing where to look, when to look, and making it more simple.”
Along with gleaning guidance from the national team coaches, Igiede’s week in Anaheim, Calif., provided an opportunity to trade notes with the collection of all-conference-caliber players selected to the team.
“Some speeds are different, some footwork is different, so literally picking up small things from each middle was really cool,” Igiede said.
A recognized force at the net, Igiede also smiles at the mention of possibly expanding her role on the court to the back row this season, if Ah Mow so chooses.
“I have so much respect for the people who play back row,” Igiede said. “It sounds corny, but it’s true — I’m so grateful wherever they put me. So if it’s back row, you know, I’ll put 100% of my effort into that.
“I just never stop wanting to learn more.”
Igiede headlines a middle blocker rotation that added Utah transfer Kennedi Evans just before the start of camp. Evans led Utah in blocking through 16 matches before a knee injury ended her 2021 season. Junior Tiffany Westerberg is working in the middle as well after making seven starts as an outside hitter last season. Sophomore Anna Kiraly appeared in seven matches and made four starts last season.
Middles
NO. PLAYER CL. HT. HOMETOWN
#3 Amber Igiede Jr. 6-3 Baton Rouge, La.
Two-time All-Big West first-team and AVCA All-Region honorable mention pick. … Hit team-high .388 in ’21.
#11 Tiffany Westerberg Jr. 6-3 Maple Ridge, B.C., Canada
Returns to the middle after moving to outside hitter last year. … Posted career-high seven kills in three matches.
#12 Kennedi Evans Jr. 6-2 Twin Falls, Idaho
Averaged team-high 1.11 blocks per set over 16 matches with Utah last season.
#20 Anna Kiraly So. 6-3 Kistarcsa, Hungary
Started four matches last season. … Set career highs with eight kills, three blocks vs. USC.
